Stacking Stones​A Creative Craft Blog

From the mind of Jason Kapcala comes an eclectic journal dedicated to the study of creative writing, rock music, tailgating, and other miscellany. The musings, meditations, contemplations, and ruminations expressed here are my own unless otherwise indicated. Please feel free to share your comments, thoughts, and opinions, but do so respectfully and intelligently.

The Taste of Morgantown Event is an annual tradition in my town—a time when different restaurants can get together for some friendly competition and flex their culinary muscles (and imaginations!) for a great cause—the American Red Cross. This year, at the 9th Annual gathering, the event was opened up to restaurants and chefs from all over the state of West Virginia, and the spread of dishes did not disappoint.

To me, the standout of the night was actually the restaurant that I had written off most.

Tailpipes brought a menu that felt upscale and comforting at the same time.

Tailpipes, a local burger joint with sandwiches named after classic muscle cars, turned out a spread that managed to both feel classic and creative at the same time. In doing so, they narrowly beat out (in my opinion) a perennial strong competitor, WVU’s Alumni Center, and its more obviously lavish (and also delicious) “Butter Poached Lobster BLT.”

Tailpipes brought a smoked meatball slider, which on its face may seem a little underwhelming for an event where people are foraging, poaching, deconstructing, and sherry-ing items. But Tailpipes proved that food preparation doesn’t have to be complicated or novel in order to produce a standout dish. The meatballs benefited from Working H Farms’ smoked brisket, which lent a big hearty flavor to the meatballs and the sort of juiciness that can only come from the right fat-to-meat ratio. They topped their slider with their house Texas BBQ sauce, pickled red onion, a sweet and spicy pepper relish, and pimento cheese, somehow managing to fit all of that between the two halves of a King’s Hawaiian bun without it seeming overly sloppy or unwieldy. (That may have been the most impressive part of all!)

Tailpipes' meatball slider featured complex layers made with local ingredients

The pepper relish was made with locally sourced vegetables and honey, and along with the pickled onions, it gave the slider just the right tangy bite, providing clean contrast to the beef and BBQ. The house-made Pimento spread came with a bit of help from sister store Clutch Wing Shop and gave this dish the creamy, cheesy finish it needed to push it over the top.

The rum cake was deceptively good.

Plated with this superb slider was a rum cake (with or without mixed nuts for those with allergies). Again, on the surface, the spongy piece of yellow cake didn’t seem like the sort of desert that would win over my heart, but the proof is in the tasting they say, and while it wasn’t the best desert there (that honor goes to Tutto Gelato), it definitely out-performed some of the more complicated deserts presented by its upscale rivals.

The point of this event was to raise money for charity, and judging from the packed house, it was a success. But there is a secondary benefit for the restaurants competing.

Taste of Morgantown provides restaurants with an opportunity to reach out to the public and showcase their food. If the goal is to gain new customers, then Tailpipes hit its mark this year. I’d never tried their food before, but I will definitely be returning in the future to see what surprises their inventive car-themed burgers have in store!

​Jason Kapcala is the author of North to Lakeville (forthcoming on Urban Farmhouse Press). When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, cooking, rock and roll, driving his Dodge Challenger, and studying the craft of writing.